Electronic telecommunications networks are increasingly used to store and distribute a variety of data. Examples of such electronic networks include the Internet, and intranet systems. For example, World Wide Web (Web) pages (which may be accessed over the Internet) may include text, graphical displays, video displays, animation, and sounds.
The Web is usually accessed via telephone lines by a modem-connected computer. However, the Web may also be accessed through other devices, including personal data assistants, fax machines, and Internet-compatible telephones. One telephone that provides Web access is described in M. Valentaten, B. Moeschen, Y. Friedman, Y.-T. Sidi, Z. Bilkowsky, Z. Peleg, Multi-Mode Home Terminal System that Utilizes a Single Embedded General Purpose/DSP Processor and a Single Random Access Memory, U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,940 (Oct. 5, 1993).
A Web page is encoded in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). An HTML document is a plain-text (ASCII) file that uses tags to denote the various elements in the document. An element may include an attribute, which is additional information that is included between tags.
HTML can be used to link text and/or images, such as icons, to another document or section of a document. The user activates a link by clicking on it, and the linked database is directly accessed. Links are used to access related information, or to contact a person or entity. However, information on a Web page must have the requisite HTML tags to provide an active link.
It is known to download modifications to computer software from the Web. The user selects a hypertext link on a Web page and the appropriate data is downloaded to the user's computer. The user then uses the downloaded data to upgrade the computer. However, such downloads are typically either software applications or graphical representations, such as icons.
A Web page may also provide other useful information. For example, various settings, such as an Internet Service Provider's (ISP) access telephone number may be stored on a Web page. However, the user must still manually configure the computer to change this information locally. In addition to the options and settings necessary to connect to the Web, such Internet appliances as an Internet-compatible telephone also require settings for telephone functions. Such telephone functions include service features, such as Caller ID or Call Waiting, as well as the graphical user interface for displaying the telephone functions, and user profile configuration information, such as how to dial, local area code, and the user's name, address, and zip code.
An Internet appliance, such as the Internet-compatible telephone, typically has limited processing power and memory storage, as compared to a computer. Thus, it is advantageous to minimize the power and memory required to modify the configurations and features of the appliance.
It would therefore be an advantageous to provide a method and system for automatically configuring an Internet-compatible telephone from the Internet. It would also be advantageous if such method and system minimized the processing power and memory storage required for such an upgrade.